>> the show must go on, people, and go on she does. neither rain nor snow nor falling down nor hair extensions or trouble or flat-out upchucking in front of thousands of preteen girls will keep these pros from finishing their songs. justin bieber, we salute you. that does it for us. countdown to the faceoff. mitt romney and president obama get ready for the make or break it debate. but romney says it's not about the win. >> plus, it was like hitting a lighthouse overnight. twoferry boats send at least a hundred to the hospital. jump topping safety. a fire breaks out in an apartment building forcing a 72-year-old man to leap into the

arms of bystanders below. just what happened? we're going to have all the details coming up. that's incredible. good morning. welcome to early start. i'm brianna keilar. >> very nice to have you with us. i'm zoraida sambolin. i'm 5:00 a.m. in the east. counting down the final hours to the big denver debate. >> the stakes could not be higher for mitt romney and president obama. if a clear winner emerges, it could be a game changer. listen to romney tell supporters in denver, this debate is not a competition. >> the people want to know who is going to win, who is going to score the punches and who is going to make the biggest difference in the arguments they make? there's going to be the scoring of winning and losing. you know, in my view it's not so much winning and losing or even the people themselves, the president and myself. it's about something bigger than

that. >> state and political editor paul steinhauser is actually in the house with us this morning. all week long, last week we were talking about lower expectations. is this just that? >> you heard that from mitt romney. it's how you play the game. right. let's be honest. you heard the same thing from president obama sunday night at his rally in colorado. i think it also matters who wins or loses. both candidates in their final debate prep. mitt romney had the rally in colorado last night. he's hunkering down with the senator playing obama. you won't see much of mitt romney until wednesday night. same thing for the president. he's in nevada. he'll fly to denver on wednesday. he's got senator john kerry playing mitt romney in the debate preps. the president did have a chance to talk to a few people. he delivered some pizzas to the local obama for reelection campaign office out there. very nice of them. delivering pizza to the workers. he also talked about not getting

out much. take a listen. >> basically they're keeping me indoors all the time. it's a drag. they're making me do my homework. >> wow, wow. this is john. he's doing his homework. >> also you have some new polls for us. where are we seeing the candidates now? >> nationally, this race is extremely close. four polls came out yesterday over the last 4 hours. let's talk about ours. cnnorc.com. 47 for mitt romney. that three-point advantage for the president is -- what is the key issue on wednesday night in this is about domestic issues. take a look at the economy numbers. about as close as you can get. one point between the candidates. that's why so much is on the line here. while the national polls are tight, the president has an

advantage. >> that matters a lot. the swing states really matter. >> we can say it's really tight, huh, paul in. >> that's right. we'll see you again in the next hour. first presidential debate is at 7:00 eastern on cnn on wednesday night. and on cnn.com. in hong kong, rescuers are scouring the harbor this morning for possible survivors of a collision between two passenger ferries. more than 100 survivors were pulled from the water immediately after the crash. the impact was so strong, it felt like the boat smashed into a rock or a lighthouse one passenger said. cnn correspondent is on the phone with us. what can you tell us, ram i? >> hi there brianna. this is hong kong's worst fatal ferry accident in the past four decades. a total of 37 people are now confirmed dead and another nine people are seriously injured.

right behind me, you can see the scene of the crash. it happened last night at 8:30 p.m. when one boat basically hit another boat which then sank. that boat was carrying about 120 passengers. it was supposed to be a celebrational day. many of them were watching fireworks for china's national holiday which lands on october 1st. but that fun turned to fear basically when water started rushing through that broken hull. take a listen. >> the boat was completely standing straight up in the water. all the tables and chairs were everywhere. it was like a slide. everything was sliding down. >> translator: my leg was stuck and couldn't get it out. i thought i won't be able to get it out and i was going to die. the water was suffocating me. my friend tugged with all her might and got my leg out. >> now, search and rescue operations are still going on. earlier in the day we took a little boat out to the crash

site and saw several marine vessels and a helicopter circling the area. looking ahead, hong kong's chief executive. the governor of the region here said a probe is going to be under way to figure out just exactly what caused this crash. brianna. >> thank you very much from hong kong. it is might have minutes past the hour. three cars of an amtrak train derailed this morning. fresno, south of fresno, california, that is. it plowed into the side of a passenger train. this all happened yesterday afternoon. more than 170 people on board. dozens were injured. fortunately, the injuries are not serious. american airlines has grounded several 757s after a row of seats came loose on two separate flights within days of each other. if you can imagine that. the faa is also looking into the incidents. a spokeswoman for american says an initial internal investigation found there may be

an issue with a certain model of seats and how they fit into the tracking used to secure them. >> one of the fbi's most wanted white collar criminals in custody this morning after 30 years on the run. this is incredible. john donald cody was already under arrest in ohio under the name bobby thompson. a lucky google search by a bored u.s. marshal matched an old photo of cody to his alter ego. they want him in connection with a charity scam. he may have ripped off millions of donors intended for veterans. he's also wanted for questioning in a spy case. >> googling. incredible. a bored person googling there. >> a bored person as we all do and it paid off. opening up the so-called perversion files. the boy scouts will report to authorities hundreds of adult leaders who have confessed to molesting scouts since the 1960s. they'll turn information over to officials in the jurisdictions

ar the abuse happened. some could face criminal charges and in cases where statute of limitations of reporting cases have not expired, civil cases could still be brought. an iran i person who came with mahmoud ahmadinejad stayed in new york instead of going back home. he now wants to stay in the united states permanently. he has applied for asylum. his american lawyer says he's afraid to return to iran. >> there were things that he was expected to do that he was not comfortable with doing. that he was quite opposed to. >> the iranian government then perceives him as being their opponent. so you're perceived as being part of the enemy when you're not doing what it is that they want you to do. >> the cameraman has reportedly been a part of ahmadinejad's inner circle for several years. a monday knight mauling in arlington, texas.

the chicago bears intercepting tony romo five times. five times in a 34-18 drubbing of the dallas cowboys. two picks were returned for touchdowns. the five interceptions matching a career high for the cowboys' quarterback. >> a man leaps from a burning building as neighbors gather to catch him. you're going to have to see this to believe it. we have the details coming up next. ystem and the world's only tridion safety cell which can withstand over three and a half tons. small in size. big on safety. which can withstand over three and a half tons. i've got two tickets to paradise!l set? pack your bags, we'll leave tonight. uhh, it's next month, actually... eddie continues singing: to tickets to... paradiiiiiise! no four. remember? whoooa whooaa whooo! you know ronny, folks who save hundreds of dollars

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tight turning, fun to drive 2013 smart. ♪ welcome back to early start. 12 minutes past the hour. i'm zoraida sambolin. i'm brianna keilar. we have heart stopping video to show you. a 72-year-old man hanging from this third floor apartment window. can you imagine how scary this is. >> he was forced to let go when a fire goes out of control in his kitchen. new yorkers gathering below to catch the man. news 12, the bronx's laura terrain has more on this

incredible catch. >> a leap of faith from a burning building into the arms of friends and neighbors. >> i'm glad i'm healthy, i have no broken bones. >> 72-year-old ronnie post says he miraculously suffered a bruised heel. he fell three stories from this apartment after his kitchen caught fire thursday afternoon. >> i couldn't breathe. so i ran back to my room, closed the door. i closed the door. the smoke was coming into my room. >> he first yelled out this window to call 911 then began climbing out to escape the smoke. eventually hanging by one arm on to the window's ledge. vanessa, a good friend of ronnie was on the street below yelling for a crowd to catch him. >> everybody gather round and let him jump. >> i held my arm right here. i waited and waited. i couldn't hold on no more. >> falling feetfirst into the group assembled below.

>> held him. you all right? you okay? yeah, i'm good. he served in the u.s. army and was trained as a paratrooper to safely jump from planes. >> i knew what to do to jump out the window. how to jump and land. people caught me when i jumped out the window. >> fire officials tell us the flames were contained to his apartment and no one was injured during the fire or this catch. >> that is one lucky man. those new yorkers, amazing. 72 years old. doesn't look a day over 50, does he? >> i agree. young man. 14 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date. in less than three hours, early voting begins in the key swing state of ohio. over 922,000 ohioans have requested absentee ballots and those can be mailed beginning today. >> the white house detected and foiled an attempted cyber attack on its computer system. officials say the hack attempt targeted an unclassified network. there's no indication any data

was removed. the administration isn't identifying the source. though one report accuses china. a judge in florida dismissed a lawsuit against miami-based carnival cruise lines. manry trying to sue over the costa concordia cruise ship. carnival owns the cruise lines. they claim it should be filed in italy. bringing a warehouse fire under control. this broke out in winnipeg yesterday. amazing pictures. it sent flames and that thick black smoke into the air. it was auto racing methanol that was reportedly stored on this site. and the flames why so intense that at one point the firefighters were forced to back away. seth mcfarland, the man behind family guy and the summer movie blockbuster ted is taking on a new gig. hosting next year's oscars. mcfarland has recent awards show

improv experience last week. he talked into the wrong mike and said this is what happens when you don't come to rehearsal. >> i'm excited to see that. i like seth mcfarland. i watch family guy. i have the viewing habits of a 14-year-old boy. >> i have a 13-year-old. so i can't have it on. 15 minutes past the hour, it's time for early reads. this is your local news making national headlines. >> first from the philadelphia enquirer, police are investigating an incidents caught on video and posted on you-tube. it shows a highway patrol supervisor punching a woman in the face. apparently without warning. during puerto rican day parade in philadelphia. police say they believe the woman was throwing water or beer at the cops. philadelphia police say the lieutenant has been identified and taken off the street. they're conducting a full scale investigation. next up, a story in "the new york times." a brooklyn drug bust, including a 3 foot long alligator.

investigators think the couple they arrested were keeping it as a pet. there's a picture for you. police say they also found guns and pot inside the home. the couple was charged with harboring a prohibited animal, in addition to drug and gun offenses. >> police were probably not expecting that. coming up, a new complaint against a big bank filed over the housing bubble. are they being held to account? our own christine romans has what you need to know, next. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open for 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate.

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we're having great die lg this morning. it's 20 minutes past the hour. minding your business this morning. markets closed higher yesterday after reports showed american factory activity expanded last month. >> christine is here. she has our other top business stories for us this morning. >> good morning. the fiscal cliff, the bad serious news. it's likely going to cost you about $3500 next year. that's new analysis from the tax policy center. this breaks down the data by income. see how much money you make on the left. on the right, you'll see what the fiscal cliff would give you for tax increases next year. if you make between 40,000 and $60,000 it's a $2,000. the more you make, for people that make more than $100,000 you'll have a $14,000 tax bill next year. it's -- they couldn't agree on deficit reduction.

fiscal cliff congress would have to fix it a quick point. the payroll tax cut that you're getting right now, it's likely not going to be extended. there will be higher taxes, maybe a little bit, maybe a lot depending what congress does. now, the new york attorney general filed suit against jpmorgan against the mortgage backed securities sold. the start of it all. the civil suit alleges that bear stearns which jpmorgan now owns and is responsible for, misled investors into thinking the toxic loans had been fully evaluated. even when bear stearns found out there were problems, the bank "failed to reform their practices or to disclose material information to investors." that's according to the complaint. total losses suffered, $22.5 billion in 2006 and 2007. here's the thing we can control. we can control what we're spending and buying this month. it's a new month and every month there are new deals. they're known -- every month is known differently for shoppers. according to deal news.com,

here's what to buy and not buy in october. halloween costumes, the week before halloween when they are cheap. why? because they're trying to unload the inventory in the final days before halloween. jeans. the styles leftover are usually marked down. you can stock up on shrubs, floral bulbs, gardening items that last in the basement through winter. depending where you live, you can do fall planting at deep discounts. avoid this in october. cold weather apparel, you'll get good sales in january. hold off. a new electronics, black friday is better. appliance, washers, dryers, refrigerators, the best markdowns in november for those. we were chatting. you caught us chatting about this story. because it's really great to plan. you said that you're targeted now through e-mail. >> right. >> in order to get you to -- >> it's true.

stow the marketers in all the stores know your patterns, know what you're buying. a lands end account, they see they have extra inventory in a certain kind of pant you've bought for your kid. boom, 40% off, they know how to scratch your itch. you can look for the right month to buy things, but also there's a lot of really good sales they're trying to get you. sometimes i think they're trying to make me spend money i don't have. >> as long as you have that coupon. >> if you're judicious and buy things on sale online, they know that. suddenly, they come courting you. >> have you noticed? you've noticed, right? >> you've pointed it out to me, now i know. that's what's going on. definitely, i think it's pretty amazing. how do you sort through all the different things you're getting. if you're already buying it, you go ahead with the coupon. >> don't buy things you can't afford to pay off during the month. this is where consumer psyche has gone overboard.

you are constantly buying things because i think it's on sale and you can't afford it. >> if you can't afford it in 30 days, you shouldn't be buying it in the first place. especially discretionary spending. that's always the thing to remember. >> excellent advice. look for the coupons. i'm going to start doing that now. >> honey, i am cheap. stick with me. >> no, no. i'm there too. i wasn't looking for those coupons. i don't like buying online all the type. if they offer me the incentive of 40% off, i'm with you. 25 minutes past the hour. >> it is called blood spill, race for a reason. a skateboarder has a very unusual collision during a practice downhill run. you've got to see this. if you're leaving the house right now -- oh, my -- >> it's one of those moments, is everybody okay? >> that's disturbing. you can watch us any time on your desktop or mobile phone.

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just one day until the big showdown between president obama and mitt romney. is it more about the win or about the political punches? we'll break it all down. video emerges possibly showing an american journalist who disappeared in syria. why experts warn you shouldn't take the clip at face value. ikea now apologizing for this ad that airbrushed out women. why they did it just ahead. welcome back to early start. i'm brianna keilar. i'm zoraida sambolin. it's 29 minutes past the hour here. the candidates are in full

prep mode for tomorrow night's presidential debate with republican challenger mitt romney appearing at one final rally in denver. the city where he will be squaring off one-on-one for the first time with president obama. >> in my view, it's not so much winning and losing or even the people themselves, the president and myself. it's about something bigger than that. these debates are an opportunity for each of us to describe the pathway forward for america that we would choose. >> romney will, no doubt, be pressed by the president on the specifics of that pathway and with the candidates neck and neck in the most recent cnnorc poll, with the three-point lead falling within the margin of error. it's anybody's game. here to talk strategy is ryan lizza washington correspondent for the new yorker. nice to have you with us. >> nice to see you. >> to make sense of this. we've seen them trying to lowering the expectations.

what can we expect? >> that's the sort of game. you talk about how your opponent is an incredible debater and you don't know anything. you can barely stand on the stage. so much of the game is after the debate is over. these things are would n in the spin room and in the media. not actually on the floor. >> let's start with romney, though. if we could start with romney. what can we expect there? >> couple things. romney needs to do three things. he needs to talk about specifics, which has been one of the things voters has been asking for and the campaign hasn't laid out what he's going to do. the second thing he needs to o do is favorability. unusual circumstance. he went into september as the only candidate in the last seven elections to have more voters say they have an unfavorable view of him than favorable. that's very unusual. that means all the negative ads that obama ran in the summer worked. he's got to address that likability deficit. the probable problem is, debates aren't all the best forum for

that. they're good as showing you're knowledgeable but not connecting with voters. also the 47% quote. obama needs to address it -- he needs to address it firmly and get it behind him. >> and make americans think he cares about all of them. >> if you were out there with this quote saying half the country won't vote for you. you've got to address that and get it behind you. romney has more work to do. because he's down. >> right. what about president obama, what does he have to do? >> president obama is sitting on a lead. he's looking good. the race seems like it has broken. his strategy will be to sort of play defense. not make any mistakes, play it very safe. he's got to stick to the strategy, which is emphasize the positives in the last four years and do what he's been doing, attack romney, attack him on that 47%. the other thing obama has to do, he's done a little bit but he

hasn't to a certain degree is lay out specifics for a second term. if you look at the swing voters, they want to know what they're going to do. he's got to do that a little bit more. finally, in previous debates where obama has gotten in trouble, he seemed cocky and overconfident. >> there's a lot of talk about that. he could create trouble for himself if he goes down that road. that comes naturally. how do you overcome that? >> a lot of people have been talking about with hillary clinton when he said you're likeable enough, hillary. that was a similar dynamic. obama was winning the likability race there. he said it almost in an offensive way. he's got to be careful that -- obama doesn't have a lot of respect for mitt romney. >> exactly. does that manifesto owe that's going to be hard to keep under wraps? >> i shouldn't say obama personally. i know the people around him and the campaign, they're dismissed with this guy. i don't think there's a lot of personal chemistry between them. obama has to make sure that

doesn't come out, he doesn't seem air gant or dismissive about this guy being on the stage with him. >> i want to -- these digs at president obama. that's something unnatural. is that a great idea? i found that really shocking. >> the bad idea is telling people about it beforehand. all of them do that. if you talk to the debate coaches and the guys who prep the candidates, they always prepare the zingers. a lot of the ones we think of historically were ones that were prepared going into the race. but you don't go out and tell the reporters before the debate that oh, don't worry, our guy is going to be really prepared because he's got canned lines ready to go. >> prepare the zinger, put it in your pocket and you pull it out when a moment presents itself. >> it's fake. >> if you can, right? those are such awkward moments. it's like okay, now i got to prep this moment to happen to get the zinger in.

i find it bizarre. >> thank you, ryan. we appreciate your time this morning. >> thanks, ryan. thanks, guys. president obama and mitt romney face to face as voters weigh their choice. the first presidential debate starts wednesday night. you can watch it live at 7:00 eastern on cnn and also on cnn.com. all right, mitt romney on the record. promising to honor temporary work permits for young illegal immigrants who were allowed to remain in the united states president that's because of an executive order signed by president obama this summer. the gop nominee telling the denver post, the people who have received the special visa that the president has put in place, which is a two-year visa, should expect that the visa would continue to be valid. i'm not going to take something that they've purchased. before the visas have expired, we will have the full immigration reform plan that i have proposed. a video posted on you-tube those freelance journalist austin tice who has been missing in syria since mid-august.

look at this. in this video posted by supporters of the assad regime, the man is blindfolded and appears to be in distress. he's being shoved along by militants and shoulder fired missiles. his family say the man is tice. but the state department cannot verify that it is him. check this out. we teased this. it's a bit of man versus deer. >> i thought it was a dog. >> i thought it was a horse. this is obviously pretty dramatic you-tube video. this is a skateboarding accident in colorado. you can see the guy in the blue shirt speeding downhill. he was going about 40 miles an hour. runs into this deer. this video, not surprisingly, has gone viral. the skateboarder talked to an affiliate about this epic wipeout. >> i remember like opening my eyes and being on top of a deer

and then i was pretty much in shock. so was the deer. i knew i was going to hit it. i don't really remember what i did. i guess i tackled it to the ground. i was like praying that i didn't break anything. >> so he says that the deer broke his fall leaving him with serious road rash. of course, the thing we want to know, the deer is okay. >> that's great news. isn't it? everybody is fine. >> the giant furniture retailer ikea is a ppologizing for the saudi arabian catalog. it deleted women from the catalog. in accordance with saudi arabian rules with showing women in public. ikea now regrets that move and excluding women is in conflict with the company's values. they're called october surprises. they can have an incredible impact on the november election. we'll have a look at some of the most memorable moments should president obama or mitt romney be worried in?

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welcome back to early start. it is 40 minutes past the hour. i'm zoraida sambolin. i'm brianna keilar. when president obama and mitt romney take the stage for tomorrow night's high-stakes debate in denver, they're both going to be painfully aware of the fact that one awkward moment, one poorly chosen word could cost them the presidency. >> with five weeks to go before america votes, there's always the possibility of an october surprise. here's dana bash. >> election year 1972, the raging unpopular war in vietnam consumed the bitter campaign battle between nixon and mcgovern. on october 26th, 12 days before the election, vietnam negotiator henry kiss jer made a surprise declaration. >> we believe that peace is at

hand. >> it was the fird so-called october surprise. a late in the game campaign event with a significant impact on the election. >> in order to win reelection for nixon 1972, they needed to end the vietnam war. this was sort of the definitive statement. >> the most famous october surprise was in 1980 and the surprise was what did not happen. 52 u.s. hostages held in iran were not released before the election. despite president carter's efforts. instead, they were freed as soon as ronald reagan was inaugurated. setting off democratic suspicion never proven that reagan emissaries back channeled with ryan to delay freeing the hostages and denied the troubled carter campaign a huge pre-election boost. >> it fed into the whole dynamic of the 1980 race in the sense that jimmy carter was a stumbling, ineffective president. >> fast forward to 1992, president jhw bush was on the

ropes against bill clinton over a sluggish economy when ronald laying an's defense secretary was -- bad news that bush, who served as reagan's vice president did not need. in 2004, a classic october surprise. osama bin laden released a video on october 29th, just four days before election day in a razor-thin race between president bush and john kerry. it served as a reminder of the terrorist threat and strategists in both parties believed helped president bush. >> the term october surprise has become a seismic event. most centered around foreign policy, others have been around the economy, like in 2008. when the economy imploded, john mccain's advisers say his campaign collapsed with it and

never recovered. historians say for an october surprise to have an 11th hour impact, it has to feed into a narrative that already exists, whether carter's ineffectiveness or mccain. >> it's not yur reek a. this is a so surprising, so amazing, but rather people nod, yes. this is where we thought things were going. >> it's possible we may have already seen this election year's october surprise. maybe it was how the candidates reacted to tragedy in libya and the broader unrest in the middle east or mitt romney's infamous 47% remarks. or perhaps one or both of the campaigns is holding out damaging information about the other. or there will be an unfor foreseen event on the world stage. it wouldn't be an october surprise if we knew. dana bash. this is a live picture from the debate location in denver. you can see the podiums are set

up on the stage. the seats ready to be filled. once again, the first presidential debate is this wednesday night. tomorrow. live coverage begins live at 7:00 eastern on cnn and cnn.com. a country music star is saying sorry for getting a little too friendly with a former "american idol" star. we'll have the apology next. if you're leaving the house right now, you can watch us on your desktop or mobile phone. go to cnn.com/tv. look, if you have copd like me, you know it can be hard to breathe, and how that feels.

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48 minutes after the hour. let's get you up to date here. it's less than 40 hours to go before tomorrow night's critical presidential debate. both candidates are busy preparing for the 90-minute showdown. brianna and i are wondering if they have nerves of steel or if they're really on the edge. >> i'm sure there's nerves. the campaign will never tell you they have nerves. >> no. mitt romney is already in denver. the president is hunkered down in nevada hold a three-point lead among likely voters. this is in a latest cnn poll. rescuers are searching hong kong harbor for people tossed into the water after two passenger ferries collided. six crew members have been arrested this crash last night has now killed at least 37 people. more than 100 survivors were pulled from the water in the immediate aftermath of the collision. dramatic video from new york city. look at this. a 72-year-old man hanging on for

dear life from his third-floor apartment window. then he takes a leap of faith. friends and neighbors caught him as he escaped an out of control fire in his kitchen. the catch caught on cell phone video. that's what you're watching. ronnie poe did not suffer any broken bones. >> very lucky day for him. and a special delivery atiyah hoo. new ceo giving birth to a baby boo. mayer became the chief executive in july when she was six months pregnant after spending 13 years at rival, google. ♪ country singer, jason aldean admits he got too friendly with a former "american idol" contestant. he was photographed kissing brittany kerr over the weekend and took to facebook and twitter to apologize. he married his high school sweetheart in 2001. they have two daughters.

>> yeah. that's where the problem comes in. >> major problem. all right. so let's get a quick check of the forecast with rob marciano. are you going to weigh in on that story? >> negative, ghostwriter. right to the weather. rainfall across the southeast was prevalent and heavy at times. in some cases it was needed. in other cases it was too much. here's the rainfall estimates. a lot of bright colors on the map. you know what that means. it was heavy and bright and red. georgia, where the falcons train, 6.3 inches of rain. franklin, north carolina, seeing over 2 inches. atlanta, two-day total well over 2 inches, in some cases 3 inches. the rainfall trailing across florida. if you're traveling to miami or tampa, you'll see showers. most of the rain out of atlanta getting across into the higher country of the carolinas. rolling across the spine of the appalachians into the delmarva, the delaware valley. d.c., showers.

some will stretch into new york city. but the backside of this thing, it's a slow-mover. threat for severe weather tomorrow. we saw a couple tornadoes yesterday. that's a possibility again today across the up river parts of the ohio river. here's the slow-moving system behind it. mild air, temperatures nice in texas back through colorado. but breezy conditions, alberta clipper across canada, kicking up the wind. a decent fire threat across the northern tier states from north dakota to montana. even the pacific northwest which continues to see unusually dry weather and the fires continue to burn across eastern parts of the cascades. temperatures across southern california yesterday were record highs. in the 90s, near 100 degrees. we'll see it again today. if you're feeling fall chill, head to sack meant toe. may have to dodge a few raindrops. >> be seeing more pictures, i think, rob. have you been seeing this on facebook, any friend on the west

coast is posting a picture of the temperature in their car for what they're doing? 105 degrees, 104 degrees. >> those poor folks. >> it's crazy. beautiful on the east coast. we have a packed hour ahead on "early start." mahmoud ahmadinejad is back in iran. he's expected to speak next hour after his final u.n. speech. his official photographer never left new york. he's seeking asylum. will he talk? next hour, we'll speak to the first official white house videographer about what he might know. be aware of exploding washing machines? a safety alert for one really big appliance. all that and much more coming up in the next hour of "early start". first, they are no longer one hit wonders. filipino prisoners going gangnam-style. this is going viral. at shell, we believe the world needs a broader mix of energies. that's why we're supplying natural gas to

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. welcome back. 56 minutes past the hour. i'm zoraida sambolin along with brianna keilar. we're looking at what's trending. >> pumpkins, giant pumpkins are trending. a giant pumpkin broke the world record at the thomasfield fair in massachusetts. >> oh, my gosh. >> this one is over 2,000 pounds. 2,009 pounds to be exact. this is a second time that a pumpkin shattered the record in a eek. >> how do you grow something like that? >> special plant food. i don't know. this giant gourd netted the owner $5,000 and another 10 grand for topping the one-ton mark. i want to carve that thing. you could hop inside of it. >> pop out of the pumpkin. this next story.

this is -- >> wow, i can't believe they are giving me this story. a monster night for tiger. miguel cabrera. 44th home run of the year. he's close to becoming the first triple crown winner since 1967. this is a big deal. leading in home runs, batting average and runs batted in. all this on the night detroit clinched a division title. i wanted my chicago white sox to take that. they didn't. one thing all of washington can get behind for the first time since 1933. fdr's rookie year. the nation's capitol has a first place team. can you believe it? the nets clinching a division title. the first since the team moved there from mont treel. >> we're excited about that. >> good for you, brianna. follow-up hit from the filipino prisoners who brought you "thriller." check this out.

♪ they do it right, don't they? >> they're going for viral video fame for gangnam style. >> right. >> 1,000 inmates at the detention center braved the rain, they showed off their awesome moves. the video already has close to 800,000 hits. >> oh, my gosh. >> since up loaded on saturday. >> i say we have to learn the dance. >> we're not showing you, though. >> no. crunch time for the candidates fast approaching. here's jon stewart's take. >> the make or break moment for both campaigns and they're going all out preparing. >> president obama and governor mitt romney are preparing for wednesday's debate in denver. >> obama is leaving on sunday for two or three-day debate camp. >> debate camp. >> oh, i remember going to debate camp. i remember like it was hot summer days, no sports. our bitter rivals, camp normal fun. let me remember the song if i

can. ♪ >> on the shores of lake rhetoric notes. ♪ we practice logical consistency. we will beat your attacks using well-structured argument and reason facts. you sometimes false ♪ ♪ and logical not in the face not in the face ♪ [ bleep ] actually written into the song. ♪ >> in case you missed it there we have it for you. "early start" continues right now. countdown to the face-off. mitt romney and president obama get ready for the make it or break it debate. but romney says it is not about the win. and what could he know? the president of iran's personal cameraman seeking asylum in the u.s.? we're talking to the first white

house videographer about it. and jumping to safety. a fire breaks out in an apartment building, forcing a 72-year-old man to leap into the arms of bystanders below. just exactly what happened there. we have all the video for you coming up. >> amazing story. good morning and welcome to "early start" i'm brianna keilar. john berman is coming up next hour on "starting point." >> nice to have you with us. i'm zoraida sambolin. it is 6:00 a.m. in the east. less than 40 hours and counting until the critical denver debate. a live look at the hall at the university of denver where barack obama and mitt romney go face-to-face for 90 minutes tomorrow night. >> now, just one slip of the tongue -- >> like i just did. >> one slip of the tongue, even an awkward moment, this could make or break a candidate. but listen to romney tell supporters in denver this debate is not a competition.

>> people want to know who's going to win? who's going to score the punches and who's going to make the biggest difference in the arguments they make and there's going to be all the scoring and winning and losing. you know, in my view, it's not so much winning and losing, or even the people themselves, the president and myself, it's -- it's about something bigger than that. >> cnn political editor paul steinhauser is here with us this morning. it's really not about winning or losing? >> it's not, right, paul? >> you heard the president say similar stuff, right? nah. you buy that? i don't buy that. both these guys are in lockdown mode. romney is in colorado. got there last night. did that rally. they're trying to recreate the debate conditions and that's what he'll be doing today and probably tomorrow until showdown tomorrow night. the president is in nevada. he got there sunday. he's also in lockdown mode and getting ready for the debate. he was able to visit yesterday a local campaign office. look at that. sent some pizzas to the workers and here's what he had to say about getting ready for the debate.

>> -- all the time. they're making me do my homework. >> sounds like a teenage boy explaining about his mom. okay. so, there's a new cnn poll, and it shows obama at 50, romney at 47. this is right ahead of the debates. but you have some more in-depth polling that highlights what the candidates will probably be focusing on tomorrow night. >> numbers behind the numbers. that's basically a tie right there. take a look at this. it's a domestic debate, right? here are the issues, and who is winning on the issues right now according to our poll. on the economy, that's about as tight as you can get, 49% for the president, 48 for mitt romney. unemployment, this is interesting, romney with a six-point advantage. and on the deficit, you can see, as well, mitt romney with a bit of an advantage. >> and another issue that could come up in the debate is immigration. mitt romney finally taking a position on this. >> yeah. in an interview just a couple of hours ago with the denver post, this is interesting, this goes back to the president and that

executive order he signed in june that allowed some younger children of illegal immigrants to not face deportation. here's what romney said about this in the "denver post." the people who have received the special visa the president's put in place, which is a two-year visa, should expect that the visa would continue to be valid. i'm not going to take something that they purchased. before those visas have expired we will have full immigration reform plan that i proposed. in the primaries he took a hard stance on illegal immigration. he said he was against the dream act -- >> and for deportation, also. >> making it so hard to get a job that people would self-deport. >> a little bit of a different tone in front of univision just a few weeks ago in miami. what are our polls showing immigration? the president with a very, very slight advantage when it comes to that issue. we may hear about it tomorrow night in denver. >> we're looking forward to that. i took issue at first when i read the whole idea that i'm not going to make -- i'm not going to take something away from you that you paid for. but then he continued on to say, that there is going to be comprehensive immigration

reform. and i think at the end of the day, those are really the words that everybody's trying or hoping to hear and understand what does that really mean. >> the details. >> he said the first year. he said in the first year, right, of a romney presidency? >> and he's credit sized the president not being able to deliver immigration reform over the last 3 1/2 years in office. >> we know this isn't the critical issue. everybody talks about the economy. still at the end of the day there's a lot of buzz about this. >> it matters. >> thank you very much paul steinhauser. we appreciate. nice to have you in the studio, as well. >> in the flesh, paul steinhauser. for the first presidential debate starts wednesday night. you can watch it live at 7:00 eastern on cnn and also on cnn.com. >> meantime, ann romney is stumping for the votes in the battlegrounds. she told campaign rally in henderson, nevada, yesterday that her husband is up to the task of being president. >> this country is ready for a turnaround. this country is ready -- this

country is ready for mitt romney. >> ann romney also said mitt doesn't talk, he does. and later today, a pennsylvania judge is expected to decide whether to uphold a new state law that requires every voter to present a photo i.d. at the polls. opponents of the republican-backed measure say it would keep over 900,000 people from voting and unfairly targets poor and minority voters. the judge has to decide whether everyone in the state has equal access to valid i.d.s before the november 6 election. train versus truck. as dawn begins to break over central california, amtrak workers will be busy trying to put three passenger cars back on the tracks. look at this, folks. they derailed yesterday. this is south of fresno. and officials say a tractor trailer failed to stop at a crossing and plowed right into the side of that train. more than 170 people were on board. as you can see there, dozens were injured. fortunately the injuries, we

understand, are not serious. meantime, rescuers in hong kong are searching the harbor this morning for possible survivors or victims of a horrible accident. two passenger ferries collided last night, killing at least 37 people, and there's light word six crew members from both vessels have been arrested. more than 100 others were tossed into the water and rescued immediately after the crash. a passenger on one of the ferries said the impact was so strong it felt like the boat smashed into a rock or a lighthouse. cnn correspondent is in hong kong. this must have been a scary scene that played out last night in the dark. what can you tell us? >> yes, that's right, brianna. as you might expect, devastation, this tragedy has hit hong kong. basically this is being known as hong kong's worst ferry accident within the past 40 years, within pretty much someone's lifetime. 36 people -- excuse me, 37

people, have since died. nine others have been seriously injured. it happened last night, as you mentioned, around 8:30 p.m. that was when one boat, a ferryboat, collided with a private boat and that sent everyone, as you mentioned, into the water. now that boat was carrying about 120 passengers, and those people had actually been on that boat for a celebration of sorts. they were there celebrating the founding of the people's republic of china, which is on october 1st. but that fun did then turn into fear when water started rushing in after the collision. >> translator: the boat was completely standing straight up in the water. it was chaotic. all the tables and chairs where everywhere. it was like a slide. everything was sliding down. >> translator: my leg was stuck and i couldn't get it out. i thought i won't be able to get it out and i was going to die. the water was suffocating me. my friend tugged with all her might and got my leg out. >> and hong kong authorities say

that they have dispatched more than 200 rescue personnel along with several fire boats. looking ahead the chief executive has said that he's going to fly all flags half mast for the next three days and they're not going to give up on the search and rescue for the next two. >> and ramy we know that you will be monitoring that search. thank you. and we have dramatic video from new york city. look at this. this is a 72-year-old man hanging for dear life from his third floor apartment window and taking that leap of faith. friends and neighbors caught him as he escaped an out-of-control fire burning in his kitchen. that heart-stopping catch caught on cell phone video. local stations report he did not suffer any broken bones. he's fine. >> amazing. >> thank god. he says he's afraid to return to iran, mahmoud ahmadinejad's personal cameraman seeking asylum in the u.s. he's said to be more than just a photographer. so the question is, what does he know? and will he talk? we're talking to the first white

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...and we inspected his brakes for free. -free is good. -free is very good. [ male announcer ] now get 50% off brake pads and shoes at meineke. welcome back to "early start." it is 12 minutes after the hour. i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm brianna keilar. it is a potential intelligence bonanza for the u.s. this morning. while iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad was in new york, making likely his final appearance before the u.n. general assembly, a cameraman traveling with his delegation was making a covert getaway. contacting american authorities to seek asylum. the man identified as hassan golkhanban has reportedly been a part of ahmadinejad's inner circle for several years and could be a major intelligence loss for the normally

tight-lipped iranian government. with us now to paint a picture of what mr. golkhanban is aruin shagri who served as the first white house official videographer from 2009 to 2011 and wrote a book about it "first cameraman" documenting the obama presidency in realtime. talk about just how close this -- this cameraman could be to ahmadinejad. how much access he could have and really what he might be able to relay to the u.s. government if he talks. >> well, look, photographers and videographers put an enormous amount of trust in us when it comes to world leader coverage. you're not this fly on the wall, you're part of a team. clearly this videographer was enough of a team that he wasn't just a state television employee, they brought him on trips. when you're on a trip you're inside the bubble. there's very little you don't see. you know. there's a lot, probably at home that he doesn't see what's going on. when you're in a place like new york, the diplomatic epicenter

there are things happening right and left. >> in addition, arun, too, just the skills of being a cameraman or a videographer, i mean the discretion is almost as important as the skills of this person, right? >> absolutely. i mean it's one of the main qualifications you would think for a job like this. you know, when we talk about this in terms of american stuff we're always talking about what do you film and how do you release it? that's what kind of trust that was put in me. am i going to put something on youtube. but when it comes to something, a regime like the iranian regime, obviously they have enormous security control and security concerns. >> so you -- i was going to say, you spent a couple of years very close to president obama. what kinds of things do you learn being that close to a leader? >> well, you know, i think, like i put together a predator drone missile? like no. obviously you have your job to do. you see things but you don't absorb them. the most valuable thing you learn is the body language of someone. you know, their tells, so to speak. it's useful for me to know president obama so well, because

when i'm filming him, i can kind of drift in close up and i know which way he's going to turn and that's sort of useful when making a campaign commercial. but when it comes to intelligence gathering, i think it would be an enormous boone for our experts to talk to someone who knows the body language of someone so intimately. when you look to someone through a lens constantly you learn an enormous amount about how they move and how they think. >> can you imagine sort of the process of this cameraman, and what he went through trying to defect? i mean obviously this is, you know, a choice with a lot of danger in it. can you imagine how he was able to execute that in new york while going through his normal duties? >> i think new york is probably a good place to execute it. but, it's -- there's so many moving parts on a foreign trip like this. you know, and so many schedules to keep and places and people you have to check in with just to make sure you have your proper credentials and things. so to just have a plan to do his job and get through the day is hard enough.

but to have a covert plan on the side is extraordinary. shows extraordinary courage. >> back to the body language thing where you said that you kind of know, like you know president obama's tells. you know his emotions. what do you think if this cameraman is being questioned, what are the questions that he should be asked? what might he be able to relay? >> i think that he can tell, you know, probably the stress level this regime is under. i know they're under increasing pressure. you see someone so trusted as this defecting is a big tell in itself. there's tens of thousands of government photographers and videographers and you don't hear about this that often. so it seems the trust they place in us is well-placed. so i think he probably has a lot of stories to tell about the pressures, and the fissures happening all the way at the top. >> we'll see if he provides those eyes to the u.s. government. arun, white house videographer and author of "first cameraman: documenting the obama presidency in realtime." thank you for being with us.

coming up on "starting point" we'll hear from his lawyer paul o'dwier at 7:15. >> and a new complaint against a big bank has been filed over the housing bubble. are they finally being held accountable? our own christine romans has what you need to know.

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we are minding your business this morning. u.s. stock futures signal a higher opening for stocks today and markets closed higher yesterday. love to see those green arrows after reports showed american factory activity expanded last

month. >> christine joining us now with our other top stories this morning. >> first off the fiscal cliff will likely cost you about $3500. that's new analysis from the tax policy center. you have been hearing me complain, that's a nice word, about the fiscal cliff for months now. this graphic from cnn money breaks down the data by income. take a look on the left, look at the blue bar how much money do you make? now look over on the right, that's how much more you will pay. middle income earners will see an average increase of about $2,000. a tax increase. the fiscal cliff, of course, is congress' doing. it's massive tax increases and spending cuts because they couldn't agree on deficit reduction. it happens the beginning of the year. it can be avoided if congress acts. but no one is sure when, if, or how they will do it. now also this morning the new york attorney general has filed suit against jpmorgan over the risky mortgage-backed securities that were packaged and sold during the housing bubble. the civil suit alleges that bear stearns, which jpmorgan now owns and is responsible for, misled investors into thinking those toxic mortgage loans had been

fully evaluated. the complaint also says even when bear stearns found out that there were problems the bank failed to disclose material information to investors. total losses, of course, from those mortgage-backed securities, oh, a mere $22.5 billion. in 2006 and 2007. a big problem there. and attention smart shoppers. here's what to buy and what not to buy in october. according to dealnews.com. halloween costumes. the week before halloween, this is when they're cheap as retailers try to unload their inventory. jeans. back-to-school styles are left over and they're usually marked down. you can stock up on shrubbery, glorl bulbs, gardening items that will last you the winter. here's what to avoid, cold weather clothes. the best sales are in january. wait. new electronics. better to wait until black friday and after. big appliances, like washers, dryers, refrigerators. dealnews says the best markdowns come in november. >> thanks for sharing. we appreciate it. and what's the one thing we need

to know? >> we heard from ben bernanke yesterday. the federal reserve chief. he's a scholar of the great depression. he is pledging again, ladies, that we are going to avoid another great depression. he's promising to keep stimulus going until even after, even after the economy starts to recover to make sure we don't repeat the mistakes made into the 1930s, which is when we pulled our foot off the accelerator too soon in the economy, and just as it was starting to recover we started to tighten monetary policy and boom, threw the economy into the second great depression. the great depression scholar ben bernanke is trying everything we can to make sure we don't fall down again. >> it's comforting to hear that, isn't it? >> well, some people are concerned that it will cause inflation down the road but everyone is trying to keep the ship staling right now. >> all right. and you've got road warriors? >> that's right. another road warriors for you. if you're a business traveler, looking to meet others while you're on a trip, good news. there are now plenty of apps and services to help you do that. imguest is a social networking site for executives available in

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and 2% to 3% of infants are allergic to milk. but could there be a solution with a very special cow? >> looking forward to hearing about that. and ikea is now apologizing for this ad. it brushed all the women out. why they did it is just ahead. >> and welcome back to "early start." i'm brianna keilar. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. 29 minutes past the hour. the first presidential debate coming up tomorrow night. president obama just three points ahead of republican challenger mitt romney in the latest cnn/orc poll. that is within the poll's margin of error. meaning that it's anybody's game. >> and both candidates are pulling the political equivalent of an all-nighter in preparation for their first face-to-face showdown. president obama spoke to a supporter after stopping at a campaign office in nevada. >> indoors all the time. it's a drag. they're making me do my homework.

>> a cnn contributor and a washington correspondent for the new yorker is back with us. everybody is saying it's not about winning. but of course it is. what does romney need to do? let's start with him? >> i think he's got three challenges here because he's down. when you're down in the polls going into the debate that raises expectations for you. and traditionally the first debate is the most important. the first thing he needs to do is policy. he needs to get a little bit more specific than he has, some of the polls, that's what the undecided voters want. the swing voters want. they want to hear not just why obama's failed but what exactly mitt romney would do as president. he didn't do that in his connection speech. the other thing that's odd about romney's campaign right now is he has a upside down favorability. more voters are saying they have an unfavorable view of him than a favorable one. he's got to find a way to fix that. and frankly debates are not traditionally a great form to do that. debates have helped candidates like ronald reagan in 1980, or even barack obama in 2008. when the question was, is this

new guy up to the job? people think romney's up to the job, they just have this other set of questions about him. so he's got to do something about likability. not easy to do. finally, he needs to get past this comment he made that obama has just been hammering on him. hammering him on. the fact that, you know -- >> 47%? >> 47% of the electorate is dependent on government, won't vote for him. he needs to find a way to explain that and get past it. that's a lot of homework for one debate. >> that is a lot. maybe too heavy of a lift. some people might say it's going to be very tough. president obama, as he's going into this, what are his objectives? >> look, he's got a similar set of objectives but it's much easier. he's leading. he's going to want to play defense. he's going to want to sit on his lead and play it safe. that's what his consultants will be telling him. he's got to do what he's been doing all campaign. emphasize some of the positives of a tough four years in office. but switch it back to why this is a choice and not a referendum. it's not just up or down vote on romney -- excuse me on obama,

but that it is this other guy that's not looking out for you and his policies won't work for you. he's got to do this set of positives about his term in office but then go negative a little bit on romney and do it in a subtle way. nobody likes the president of the united states to be up there snarling at one of his opponents. and then finally, he has to -- the sort of personal thing he needs to do is make sure he doesn't seem too overconfident or smug. we all remember some of the moments from the 2008 campaign, where he seemed a little -- a little cocky, like he had things in the bag, and there were a few moments in those debates against hillary clinton -- >> let's play that for everyone. >> he's very likable. i -- i agree with that. i don't think i'm that bad. >> you're likable enough. >> thank you so much. i appreciate that. >> so i think his advisers in

the paper this morning where they're saying that this is a danger for him. and, look, i don't think there's a lot of -- i don't think these two men like each other very much. they don't know each other. doesn't seem that the obama campaign has much respect for romney. and so he's got to make sure that he doesn't let that show. >> you think they'll be fighting? i mean your impression that these candidates will be fighting, showing disdain for each other? >> i think a lot bit. if you hear the way their advisers talk about each other it doesn't show -- it doesn't seem like there's a healthy respect for one another, as there have been in some presidential campaigns. i think bigger danger is for obama. you don't want an ah-ha moment where everyone says oh, my god, maybe this race has just changed because of the way he treated romney onstage. so obama has to play it safe. >> there's been a lot of talk about how romney actually did in the debates during the primary and how this will be different. i wanted to read this. this was a debate with the president will be much different during the republican primary.

-- hillary clinton's debate prep says this no one punished mitt romney for being mean to rick santorum. the problem for governor romney is that he has to be across from the president of the united states, attack him, and still seem likable. that's a harder thing to do. and particularly if you're mitt romney, right, because you know, a lot of folks believe that, you know, he's having a very, very hard time being electable. >> absolutely. and when you attack your opponent, your favorability often declines. that's a bigger problem for romney whose favorability is lower. on the other hand, one thing that romney has that helps him is he's the challenger. he's now going in on equal footing with the president of the united states. and that raises his stature. so for the first time the voters will see him standing there next to the president, look at him and see how presidential he looks. that helps. that has helped previous candidates. that helped reagan against carter. that helped obama in 2008 against -- that was different because mccain wasn't president. but it helps when you're a

challenger and you stand there next to the president of the united states it can raise your stature and that can help romney. >> can i put you on the spot and ask you who you think is going to fare better? >> oh, boy. you know, i've been wrong on so many predictions. >> that's okay. >> look my basic view of this is that by the time we get into october, a lot of voters have made up their mind. undecided voters, early voting has already started. >> are you -- >> i'm getting to it. downplay the drama of the debates but the truth is, you know, historically the conventions have mattered a lot more than the debates. and by this time in the campaign, it's really hard to change. >> that's true but sometimes they have mattered, right? >> don't mess up. >> look, kerry, even though he lost, he improved his standing quite a bit in 2004 in the period of the debates. so romney can pick up some ground. it's a close race. but i'm sticking with my prediction of the debates aren't going to matter that much. >> all right, ryan lizza.

we appreciate it. thank you. and this is a live picture from the debate location in denver. you can see the podiums are set up on the stage. the seats are all ready to be filled. once again the first presidential debate is tomorrow night. our live coverage begins at 7:00 eastern on cnn, and on cnn.com. a video posted on youtube appears to show american freelance journalist austin tice who has been missing in syria since mid-august. in the video which was posted by supporters of the assad regime the man is blindfolded and appears to be in distress. he's being shoved along by militants with machine guns and shoulder fired missiles. and his family and two news organizations that he works for say the man is tice but the state department says it cannot verify that it's him. and new details this morning about that deadly shooting spree at a minneapolis sign company. that was last week. police now say that the gunman, an employee at the firm, was summoned to see his bosses, but before he stopped by the

executive office, he went to his car and picked up two guns. police say as soon as he was told he was fired, engeldinger killed five coworkers before committing suicide. and there was a struggle for one weapon inside that office. allergy-free milk for kids may be a step closer. scientists in new zealand believe they made a breakthrough using a genetically modified cow. they bred the cow to produce a hypoallergenic milk with reduced amounts of a protein believed to be the leading cause of milk allergies in children. and a rough monday night for tony romo. the chicago bears intercepting romo five times in a 34-18 drubs of the dallas cowboys. two of those picks were returned for touchdowns. the five interceptions matching a career high for the cowboys' quarterback. rough game. >> i didn't know it was against the chicago bears. go bears. all right. a philadelphia area drug dealer gets busted selling bags

of heroin with lebron james' name and his image stamped on them. police say the 19-year-old was arrested after he tried to sell 140 of the lebron drug packets for $750 to an undercover officer. >> it's call ed -- a skateboardr has a very unusual collision during a practice downhill run. we'll show that to you again and break it down. up. a short word that's a tall order.

up your game. up the ante. and if you stumble, you get back up. up isn't easy, and we ought to know. we're in the business of up. everyday delta flies a quarter of million people while investing billions improving everything from booking to baggage claim. we're raising the bar on flying and tomorrow we will up it yet again.

welcome back to "early start." 42 minutes after the hour. i'm brianna keilar. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. glad to have you with us. >> as we said 42 after the hour.

let's get you up to date. tomorrow night's critical presidential debate, less than 40 hours away. and both candidates are busy prepping for the 90 minute showdown. mitt romney is already in denver and the president has hunkered down, not too far away in nevada, holding a three-point lead among likely voters in the latest cnn/orc poll. that's within the margin of error. >> rescuers in hong kong are searching the harbor this morning for possible survivors or victims of a just horrible accident. two passenger ferries collided last night, killing at least 37 people. police say that six crew members from both vessels have been arrested now. more than 100 people were tossed into the water, and rescued immediately after that crash. a passenger on one of the ferries said the impact was so strong, it felt like the boat smashed into a rock or a lighthouse. and take a look at this nail-biting video. this is in new york city. that's a 72-year-old man who is hanging there for dear life from his third floor apartment window. he took that leap of faith,

friends and neighbors caught him as he was escaping an out-of-control fire in his kitchen. this dramatic catch caught on a cell phone and local stations are reporting that ronnie poe did not suffer any broken bones. >> lucky man. we expect to find out today if two soil samples from the latest dig for jimmy hoffa's remains indicate a body was buried under a shed in suburban detroit. even if there is evidence of a body, we won't know whether it's the missing teamster boss. a tipster claimed he saw a body buried on that property a day after hoffa disappeared back in 1975. >> another interesting thing caught on camera. man versus deer. this is a viral video. >> what are the chances of that happening? >> happens to cars, i guess to a skate border it's going to happen at some point. this is a skate border who is slamming into a deer, a downhill race in colorado. the cash looks a lot worse than it was. the deer, the skateboarder said

broke his fall. the deer was not injured. very important to remind people. and the skateboarder got a little bit of road rash. both of them walked away okay. >> that's good news. because that does look bad. a check of the forecast with meteorologist rob marciano. are you a skateboarder or ever had a close encounter with a deer or anything else? >> i was when i was a kid. no. i can just see that becoming like a training video for kids because they're doing crazier and crazier things now. >> training video. all right. >> all about safety. rainfall yesterday was heavy at times from memphis back to birmingham. montgome montgomery, alabama and atlanta. most cases they needed the rain. north georgia got a lot of it. 6.3 inches. gainesville almost 6 inches. chattanooga 2 1/2. atlanta almost 2. almost 3 inches in atlanta. still some leftover rain showers in miami, right along the, you know, tropical kind of rain showers. atlanta, the rain has moved off to the east. the carolinas seeing some

rainfall right now. this is kind of spotty showers. d.c. to new york we're going to get into the warm sector of this storm so it will begin to feel kind of muggy and showery at times. the main prep for seeing isolated thunderstorms that could bring tornados pittsburgh back through cincinnati today. midsection of the country looking pretty good, including denver. 80 degrees expected the next couple of days. including wednesday. but then maybe some rain mixed with snow the night of the debate. as this front drops down to the south. today it's going to bring gusts 30 to 40 miles an hour. and that could spark some fire danger. temperatures in so cal will be well into the 90s. sacramento may even hit 100 degrees today. so they are still sizzling. 70 expected in chicago. >> you said rain mixed with snow? >> that's the way it -- it's denver. mile high. >> come on. >> it's october. >> it's early october. >> after an 82 degree high. >> thanks, rob, for the warning. 46 minutes past the hour. john berman and christine romans

are filling in for soledad o'brien who is on assignment. christine joins us now with a look at what's ahead. >> a lot coming up. following a developing story ahead on "starting point." a television cameraman who traveled to the u.n. with the iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad, that cameraman has now defected here in new york. right now he's hiding out, we're told, in an undisclosed location, saying he's in fear for his life. coming up we're speaking with his lawyer, live. devastating new details this morning about operation fast and furious. did drug cartel leaders carry out a hit on innocent teenagers using weapons they got from president obama's administration? we're talking to one of the men behind the hard-hitting report that's raising an awful lot of questions this morning about fast&furious. plus the countdown to tomorrow night's presidential debate. what you might hear from the candidates. and the classic princess bride turns 25. inconceivable. going to stop by our studios

live to talk about what it's meant 25 years later. i was told this morning to call it a cult classic is underplaying it. that it's more than a cult classic. >> really? >> that's what john berman says. >> so stay tuned. thank you, christine. >> thanks, christine. >> ikea now apologizing for this ad. they removed women. so the question is why did they do it? we're talking to a branding strategist about that. sven's home security gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators, right? put them on my spark card! why settle for less? testing hot tar... great businesses deserve the most rewards! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? here's your invoice. is efficiently absorbed in small continuous amounts. citracal slow release continuously releases calcium plus d

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[ male announcer ] there's a better way... v8 v-fusion. vegetable nutrition they need, fruit taste they love. could've had a v8... welcome back. 51 minutes past the hour. do you look forward to getting that big, colorful ikea catalog in the mail? they go out all around the world. but the ones in saudi arabia are missing something. see if you can spot the difference. here's a picture from the american version of the catalog. and here's the version that people in saudi arabia saw. it's a pretty glaring difference there, right? you don't have to look too closely to see what's missing. and here's another picture from the american version. and the same shot as it appeared in saudi arabia.

that's right. the women have been removed from the saudi version. so let's talk about this with peter shaven, a branding strategist. thanks for being with us. why did ikea make this decision? >> it's a tough move. i feel for them in a way. when you're selling locally you have to be aware of all of the different ways of life around the world. what flies in america might not play in saudi arabia. what flies in canada might not fly in peru. it really varies if you're a global company. so the outsourcing group that they used to build this catalog worldwide said oh, well saudi arabia, it's a very restricted state for women, women have very little rights there, and in america whether we believe that to be normal or okay or not is irrelevant to how they're selling in saudi arabia. if you're selling in a country that has specific rules and rights you need to appeal to those rights. is it correct? depends on what point of view you're looking at it. >> ikea did release a statement and said we should have reacted and realized excluding women from the saudi arabian version of the catalog is in conflict

with the ikea group values. does this decision that they made and then consequently the statement that they're releasing actually affect their brand, do you think? >> it's not going to affect their brand in the long run. they haven't done something that's going to be a huge, new story for a long period of time. but they do need to be aware that anything they do in one place, like the butterfly effect, anything they do in one place definitely has differences and boundaries in another place. so if you're doing something in saudi arabia with the internet, and with 24 hour news cycles it's going to get back to other cultures and other people. even if it seems offensive in one place or nonoffensive in another place, it's going to offend someone. when that happens, you really need to walk a very fine line if you're a global brand like ikea is. >> they're kind of backtracking now. do you know what went into making that decision in the first place? >> i would be willing to bet the decision to airbrush the women out of this catalog wasn't even theirs. i'm willing to bet that they probably outsourced that catalog. keep in mind they have multiple catalogs all around the world

for different households, and different countries so i'm willing to bet they didn't even see that. i'm willing to bet this was a company in the middle east that did that, and that was her logic. when it was brought to ikea's attention, the story was broken by a little small newspaper that broke the story. and then it was put on the internet and became a bigger thing. so they had to release a statement. i would bet they didn't see it. >> it kind of became a bigger deal for us here. right? >> of course. because that's not something we're aware of. we look at a catalog of housewares and homewares we expect women and men and kids to be in them. and women in their bathrobes, pajamas and all that. we're per expectly okay with that. that's not necessarily okay in other parts of the country because of the value system they have. >> if you were advising them -- >> i would say the next step they're already issuing a policy, let it go. it's not going to be a very big story. the next catalog they might want to take a more hands-on approach. >> sheeter shankman branding strategist. just ahead the best advice from journalist lynn povich.

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58 minutes past the hour. we wrap it up as always with best advice. >> today's best advice comes from journalist lynn povich. >> the best advice i received was something i experienced myself. which was that i wanted to change the system at "newsweek" but i wanted to be in the system. so even though i wasn't a rebel and troublemaker you can make a

change from inside if you organize, if you get men and women together to make the change, you can do it yourself. and women have to push themselves forward to act for those raises and to get what they want. >> take away? >> totally agree. i say that to my girlfriends, it is a business decision. you ask for something. what's the worst that could happen? no. you get told no. >> that's right. a trail blazer. somebody good to listen to, as well. all right, that is it for "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm brianna kyler. "starting point" starts right now. good morning, i'm christine romans. >> and i'm john berman. soledad o'brien is on assignment today. our starting point, a new urgency. early voting under way in ten states, including the key state of ohio, as we count down to the very first presidential debate. plus, new numbers this morning showing mitt romney may be in big trouble with women. ahmadinejad's cameraman defects. theff